The rise of the 1980s Polo Ralph Lauren subculture in New York City. Could anyone forget Kanye West's infamous 2013 interview with radio personality Sway Calloway? A frustrated West was venting on the difficulty of being taken seriously in the fashion industry. In response, Calloway offered some unsolicited advice along with the revelation that he too owned a clothing brand, which, in West estimation was not anywhere close to "Ralph" level. "It ain't no Ralph though. It ain't Ralph level!" The Bronx-born son of blue collar Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants, Ralph Lauren, born Ralph Lifshitz, would go on to pioneer an eponymous brand that has become synonymous with aspirational American luxury. But what about West's adoration? How did a one-time aspiring rapper from Chicago come to hold the Ralph Lauren label in such high esteem? There's a very good chance it can be traced to Brooklyn, New York, during the 1980s when a group of inner-city youth turned their love of Polo into a subculture that would influence the sartorial taste of hip-hop artists for years to come. They called themselves the Lo Lifes and they bought, boosted, swapped and collected rare Polo pieces with the same adulation a devoted nun reads a bible. Visit www.highsnobiety.com for more.

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